Jon Bernthal Will Reprise His Role as Punisher in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

by Justin Hermes · June 22, 2025

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, it looked like Jon Bernthal’s time playing Punisher had come to an end.

When Marvel Studios initially announced their plans to reboot the Daredevil franchise with Daredevil: Born Again, Kevin Feige and his team made it clear that they wanted to differentiate the MCU version of Daredevil from its Netflix predecessor.

To that end, the series was reportedly to feature a lighter tone and less violence.

As Bernthal would later explain, he had no interest in playing a more light-hearted, sanitized version of Punisher. When Marvel asked him to return, he rebuffed them.

Punisher’s Return

Thankfully, the onset of the 2023 Hollywood strikes allowed Marvel to change course. When viewing the completed episodes of Daredevil: Born Again, Feige decided that the series was not working.

Source: Marvel Studios

The decision was ultimately made to overhaul Born Again, tie the series into the original Netflix Daredevil, and give the show a TV-MA rating. Suddenly, the door was once again open for Bernthal to return.

Eventually, Bernthal would not only play Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again, but Marvel also announced that a Punisher special would debut next year.

As it turns out, that is not Marvel’s only plan for Bernthal and his beloved antihero.

Punisher and Spider-Man Are Teaming Up

According to a new report from Deadline, Bernthal will reprise his role as Punisher in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Photo: Marvel

Interestingly, the film will not be the first time Holland and Bernthal have crossed paths. The two actors actually helped each other with their Marvel audition tapes!

“We did a film about seven or eight years ago,” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “That was where both Tom did his audition for Spider-Man and I did my audition for Punisher. We actually made each other’s audition tapes on that film.”